Cornerback Kamari Lassiter's status is uncertain against the Colts. His absence could leave a key defensive gap for the Texans.
The Houston Texans could be without a key player when they take on the Indianapolis Colts in their final regular-season game, as cornerback Kamari Lassiter was absent from the media portion of practice, which could lead to him sitting out.
Lassiter was taken out of the game last week against the Los Angeles Chargers in the middle of the second quarter when teammate Jalen Pitre rolled up on the back of his left knee, causing him to go down and stay on the field.
After being examined in the blue medical tent, Lassiter was taken to the locker room by the training staff for further evaluation before returning to the game toward the end of the first half. He played the entire second half and helped the Texans pull out a gritty 20-16 win over the Chargers to secure a playoff berth.
“A lot of guys were dealing with pain and injuries,” said Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans. “Guys went down on the field, but I got to go talk to Kamari, and he’s coming up, ‘Coach there’s no way I’m coming out of this game.’ That’s the mindset of all of our guys. It’s on the line. We know it’s on the line and they want to be out there to be the reason why we’re successful and when you have young men who have that mindset – that’s why I love the guys because everybody has that mindset.”
“Guys go down, it doesn’t matter… ‘Coach, I’m getting back on the field. I’m gonna finish this game.’ When you have that heart, when you have that passion and desire by your guys, we can go accomplish anything.”
If Lassiter is unable to play on Sunday, the Texans will likely start cornerback Tremon Smith, who has seen spot duty at times when Houston has been without Lassiter or Derek Stingley Jr.
On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback C.J. Stroud will have his blindside protector back in rookie left tackle Aireontae Ersery, who missed last week’s game with a broken left thumb that required surgery.
Ersery had the option to play this past Saturday, but decided it would be more beneficial in the long run to give himself another week to heal.
It was great for him to do that for medical reasons, but not being on the field left him jittery throughout the entire game because he wanted to be in battle with his brothers.
“It was tough man,” said Ersery at his locker on Wednesday. “Just sitting out there watching everybody, but you can just tell that our team, where we are, it is confident, but not cocky. It is everybody just doing there jobs.”
Houston is currently the fifth seed in the AFC, but it is still unclear where they could end up by the end of the regular season or where they will play their first playoff game, as some key matchups on Sunday will be a determining factor.